Decorative finish and process of obtaining same



Patented Apr. 20, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT orrics;

WALTER-M. sciiiitri'11, or EVANSVILLE, INDIAtVA.

DECORATIVE FINISH AND rnocsss or oiirarmne SAME.

No Drawin g,

To all whom it may 00mm Be it known that I, VVALTER M. SGHMITT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Evansville, county of Vai'iderburg, and State of Indiana, have invented a certain new and useful Decorative Finish and Process of Obtaining Same; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and

exact description thereof.

This invention relates to a decorative finish particularlyfor walnut surfaces or the suitable for walnutsurfaces or the like,

whereby the grain of the walnut surface, either solid or veneered, is retained with all of n'atures marks and beauty, and which is intensified and enhanced by the addition of a variety of harmonizing sl'iades of color substantially devoid of any opaqiieness or translucenty and the'production of a finish of the character indicated through a process as hereinafter will bepointed out in detail.

Among the beautiful shades produced are ruby, cosine .pinl'r, apple blossom pink,- lilac, orchid, Napoleon gray, olive, jade green, greenish blue and sky blue; and they as .Wll as others have been applied to solid and veneered walnut surfaces utilized forfurniture of all kinds, musical instruments and interior decorations, incli'iding paneling, for public and private buildings, and for any other suitable purposes. 1

The decorative finish can be described by briefly enumerating and detailing the steps in the process.

After the surface has been properly prepared for finishing purposes, for example by sanding and the like, well known in the art, the dye is applied thereto. The dye consists of a suitable shade or shades of an aniline or alizarin dyestufi' material, de pending upon the-finish or color desired to beproduced.

alone, producesa garish appearance.

. ounce water.

This dyestuff material is Application filed April 11, 1924. Serial 110,705,932.

mired with a. 'inorda'nt for the purpose of fixing the dye when applied to the surface.

g gg gl gi The resultant solution may be 'spiieadupoii the surface with a soft brush and allowed to dry, twenty-four hours standing having been found satisfactory.

. The particular inordant used with the dye selected consists of a solution of a mixture of picric acid, g'allic acid, sulpliateof sodium and chloride of sodium. Pielric acid isvery satisfactory in connection with chlorideof sodium and sulpliateof sodium. It pe'ne-. trates walnut and walnut veneers more deeply than any other agent, but when used Gallie acid, it has been determined, has almost kindly effect upon walnut and walnut veusers; and when mixed with the picric acid has a soothing effect thereon. At the same time it takes nothing away from the bloom or tone which thepicrieacid 'iinparts t'o the wood surface. Satisfactory results for several different shades orcolors have been secured by the use of a dye inateriahand herein, and solely for the purpose of illustration and not in any way forthe purpose of limitation, a few examples of satisfactory formulas will be givein Jade green.

rain indi otine cone. 'rainchlob a: c a 4 0 ride Sodium, grain sulphate sodium, 1%; grain gallic acid, grain picric acid, v1

Eosine pink.

grain orange 11, grain cariiiine B.

., grain chloride sodium-. 4 grain sul-- phate of sodium, grain gallic acid, grain picric acid, 1 ounce water;

- Greenisia blue.

grain erythrinepink, grain patent blue A. 1)., 1 grain chloride of sodium,

grain sulphate of sodiuin, 1 grain .gallic iii":

grain picric. acid, 1 ounce water.

Ruby.

1 grain ruby G., 1 grain chloride of sodium, grain sulphate of sodium, 1 grain gallie acid, grain picric acid, 1 ounce water.

These formulas may be varied within rea sonable limits without departing in any way from the invention, and it will, of course, be understood that other colors ma 7 be utilized Without departing from the invention, these formulas as pre iously stated being merely examples of What may be accomplished by the novel process, for almost any combination of shades can be produced by the use of the dyestuffs enumerated above or by other suitable dyestuffs. Darker shades can be produced by using stronger solutions, and, therefore, the percentages herein given are not to be considered in any way other than illustrative. After the dye and mordant has been spread and dried upon the surface, the same may be further prepared as by sanding and the like. A satisfactory mellowing agent has been pre pared, and this includes amylacetate, gallic acid and benzoic acid. An. alcoholic solution of the foregoing mixture is used as a diluent upon a lacquer until the desired consistency is attained which permits the resultant to be readily Worked. The propertions are about four to one, although they maybe varied as desired. The lacquer an American made product and a derivative of gun cotton and is commerciallycommon in the art. \Vhen the lacquer contains impurities such as copper or iron, the same turns brown on the addition of the first mentioned acid and acetate mixture, and, therefore, a relatively pure lacquer is 'pre ferred, and one of which is commercially marketed at the present time is of this character. Solely by way of an indication of a satisfactory mixture of acid and acetate, the following is given:

2 ounces ainyl acetate, d ounces denatured alcohol, 32 grains gallic acid, 32 grains benzoic acid.

The amyl acetate utilized seems to form an excellent combining agent for the henzoic acid and the lacquer, said acetate being of acid tendency and of an oily nature as Well.

This niellowing agent of the 'eneral character indicated mellows the shade of the dye thus fixed, tones down the garishness of it and also evens it. Most acids have an undesirable eifect on the dyestuffs. Picric acid usually leaves a yellowish cast but sometimes a reddish cast. It has been found that ben- ZOiC acid counteracts this undesirable casting effect. Gallic acid utilized in this second step of the process further mellows the product and enhances the antique effect.

The mellowing agent previously described, by reason of the presence of the lacquer in t 1e same, in addition to performing the foregoing mellowing and toning functions also forms a protective coating which protects the underlying or color coat, secured through the first step of the process including application of the dye, from the material used in the third step or subsequent or stages hereinafter to be indicated. li ithout the lacquer or an equivalent intermediate coat the materials of the first step and the application of the third step would intermingle and the latter would coat and smear them over, which would largely destroy the bloom, tone and beauty secured by the first step. If the pores of the Wood surface are not open, the same is suitably prepared to open said pores, although erally the wood is of such a nature that the pores are already open. The gallic acid has strong astringent properties, and its use in both the first and second steps of the process, in addition to other functions, causes the closure of the pores and as quickly as possible, thereby insuring an evener surface and a closer retention of the dyestuffs utilized. Fannie acid and pyrogallic acid have been utilized and will produce similar but not as satisfactory results, for they do not produce quite as mellow and antique effects as the gallic acid produces. The substitution of pyrogallic acid for gallic acid, and tannic acid for gallic acid, or a mixture of both for gallic acid, or a combination of the three acids, is to be considered as equivalent where the claim or claims specifies gallic acid.

After the resultant is spread rapidly and evenly over the surface, the same is permitted to dry, following which the surface is again prepared as hereinbefore indicated by sanding and the like, a common przu-tice in the art. After such preparation, there is applied to said surface a filler, the application of which is intended to fill all of the fine pores that are in the surface and make a substantially smooth and even surface. A satisfactory filler material has been prepared as follows: To silicon dioxide in pow suitable material to secure a mixture having the .consistency of heavy paste; Anilines or alizarines of various shades are dis solved in a mixture of turpentine and benzine of which the following proportions are given by way of example: turpentine 2- drams, beiizine, 6 drains, dyestuif as desired, l grains, which makes about one ounce of material that must be frequently shaken.

The dye solution is added to the heavy paste 6 until the whole is of the desired shadeand the proper consistency to be handled. The dyestuff used in theformation of the filler material is an entirely different group from those used in the preparation ofthe first dye or step of the process. It may be possible that in some instances the same dyestutf may be utilized. However, great care must'be exercised to have the filler the ex act shade of the first coat; otherwise, the finished surface will show up in fine specks where the filler is fixed in the pores of the surface.

The filler material is then applied to the surface prepared as aforesaid and is allowed to dry as is the usual practice following which it is rubbed off in the usual way well known in the art. The surface thus treated is then permitted to stand for sometime,

generally over night being sufficient.

After the filler-has been applied tothe surface and has been treated as indicated going, and these may be commonly known,

in the art or may be special finishes that will be satisfactory.

Contrary to the usual results obtained with enamels and the like the decorative finish, formed by the three steps of the process hereinbefore described, permits the grain of the surface to be plainly visible through said finish. The general characteristic of the finish in addition to the substantially complete visibility of the grain therethrough is the delicate tinting of the surface and also the variegated tinting thereof, whereby the desired aesthetic, beautiful and harmonious result is attained. The

colors while full in tone are light and del-' .icate in shade and are substantially free from any undesirable by-effects of the client i-cals utilized which might have a tendency to exaggerate the same and in some instances will destroy the beauty of the final product. I

hile the invention has been described in great detail in the foregoing specifications,

the many modifications thereof which will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art to which this invention applies, as

well as the many modifications which have I been suggested herein, all are to be con sidered within the broad purview of this invention, reference being had to the appended claims; and furthermore, the detailed description and specific proportions herein-before enumerated are to be considered, unless otherwise specifically mentioned in the particular claim, as being mercly illustrative and in no way restrictive of the'generic invention.

The invention claimed is:

1. The process of forming a decorative finish for woodincluding coating the article to be finishedby dyeing and mordanting the same, andapplyingthereto a mellowing coat including gallic and beiizoic acids.

In the process of forming a decorative finish for a dyed woodarticle, the step of .i'nellowing the dyed portion by applying a dljlGllOWlHg' coat including gallic acid and benzoic acid.

3. The process of forming a decorative finish for wood including coating thearticle to be finished by dyeing and mordant ing the sa ine to the desired tint and apply ing theretoa niellowing coat of substantially the same tint as the mordanted dyed coat, said inellowiiig coat .including gallic and benzoic acids.

p 4. The process of forming a decorative finish for wood including coating the article to be finished by dyeing and 1nordanting the same to the desired tint and apply ing thereto a mellowing coat of substantially the same tint as the mordanted dyed coat, said inellowing coat including gallic and benzoic acids, andsubsequently applying a filler of substantially the same tint as the mellowed, mordante-d dyed coat- 5. An initially grained and textured walnut surfaced article having a tinted coating, said coating including the reaction products resulting from the use of picric, gallic and benzoic acids.

6. A toning solution of the character describedfor a dyed walnut surface including an alcoholic solution of benzoic acid, amylacetate, gallic acid and lacquer.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature.

WALTER M. SGHMITT. 

